100
This course develops students' capacity to think theologically about issues in church life and culture. The course begins with the development of the religious imagination, which facilitates empathy and invites students to think in non-traditional ways about the connection between religion and culture. The course continues with a survey of the Bible and its various narrative lines. The course concludes with an examination of the ways in which individuals construct their own identity and place as laity within church life and thought.
This course surveys the history of Christianity from the period after the close of the New Testament to Vatican II. The survey focuses on the development of Christianity principally within western Europe and then in the American experience. Among a variety of topics, students are introduced to the debate over in Americanism in Catholic circles during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Also, the survey focuses on the impact of various historical events on the development of Christian worship practices, especially its sacramental and liturgical practices.